These Are the Most and Least Expensive Cities in America to Launch a Business

Do you have dreams of launching the next big startup in Silicon Valley or NYC? Then you'd better have a big bank account as well.

Financial experts at SmartAsset gathered data on 80 American cities and compared five different metrics—payroll, legal and accounting, utilities, office space and filing fees—to calculate the total cost of funding a business in each area.

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To make the data easy to visualize, HowMuch then created easy-to-read pie charts that present each metric as a slice of the total cost.

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Surprisingly, San Francisco's fabled Silicon Valley comes in second to San Jose in the most expensive rankings, but both Cali metros require around $440,000 to get your business off the ground.

The next three—Washington D.C, New York City and Boston—are $30,000-$50,000 less, but entrepreneurs on a tighter budget should consider relocating to one of the least expensive cities.

Cities near the Appalachian mountain range occupied most of this list. Payroll still accounts for around 80 percent of the total price tag in every city, but the total startup expenses are all below $250,000.

Here's the bottom line: If your entrepreneurial spirit is hindered by the enormous costs of conducting business in America's biggest cities, head south.